There is no such thing. More than 3.6m unmarried couples live together and there is often financial hardship for one, when relationships break down. Cohabitees form the fastest growing type of family in the UK and the government policy is to strengthen rights and protections for cohabitees. The counterargument is that those who choose not to marry and in effect put assets at risk, have the right to do so and it is an infringement on their civil liberties. New law could lead to couples breaking up or having ad hoc arrangements and all sorts of unintended consequences. March 2025…
With AI being all the rage, some legal firms are testing out good AI is at answering legal questions, by giving them fictional legal problems and asking for the solution. The results were about four out of ten compared with a solicitor of two years qualification. Not surprising perhaps, but where AI scores is taking a lengthy legal document and summarising it to save time and also as a checklist for legal remedies. What AI cannot do, so far, is to advise on whether to do something or not, whether to write a letter or not and all the nuances…
Hamit Coskun, aged 50 from Derby, set light to the Quran outside the Turkish Consulate on 13 February. He has been charged with religiously motivated harassment. Many, including Tory leadership candidate Robert Jenrick, believe the case should be dropped immediately. That view is that burning a holy book is rude and can be offensive, but should not be remotely illegal in a free society. We have the right to be offensive. Rodney Hylton-Potts February 2025
Surprising little attention was paid to an off the cuff remark made by Donald Trump on 5 February. He said if he is assassinated, he has “left instructions” for Iran to be obliterated if they were behind it. So he casually stated that his surviving Vice President would potentially order a nuclear strike, on Iran killing millions of people and nobody in the media picked it up. Incredibly ineffective especially when he has demonstrated, recently he does what he says. February 2025 Rodney Hylton-Potts
The only Defendants in Britain today to be killed judicially are dangerous dogs. The horrific terrorist murders that we read about weekly, have created calls for capital punishment and my natural instinct is to side with them. The problem, however, are miscarriages of justice. Between April 1997 and November 2024, the Criminal Case Review Commission referred 590 cases to the Court of Appeal, which were successful in having the convictions overturned. If they were death penalty cases, they would all be dead. February 2025 Rodney Hylton-Potts
A new proposed law would disqualify benefit claimants who have not repaid what they wrongly stole. This is just political posturing. How can taking someone’s driving licence help them get into work, so they can repay their debts? I cannot see the legislation in any event surviving a human rights challenge while we remain subject to the ridiculous European ECHR yoke. The solution is to use the Proceeds of Crime powers to make them pay back and have prison as a deterrent if they do not. Only prison works. February 2025 Rodney Hylton-Potts
The Divorce Dissolution and Separation Act brought in the concept of “no fault” divorces. Couples no longer apportion blame for the breakdown. The area of conflict remaining relates to money and children. It is 10 years since the Law Commission recommended that pre and post nuptial agreements should be binding, but they are still only persuasive on divorce judges. The family justice system is close to breaking point with appalling delays and inadequately retained staff, many of whom are not up to the job and sometimes do not even speak sufficiently good English. With the other problems facing the country…
The Court of Appeal has ruled that decisions on cross sex hormone treatment and gender changes can be reviewed by a judge. A 16-year-old wanted to make a decision about the future and the parents disagreed. The father was supportive and the mother (they were divorced) opposed. The issue arose whether a judge could get involved and the answer was a resounding Yes from the most senior civil law judge in the country, Sir Geoffrey Vos, the Master of the Rolls. The legal proceedings pitted the mother against the father, who supported the child’s attempts to have treatment for gender…
Although same-sex marriage has increased, for many, marriage is being replaced by couples choosing to live together as. Although cohabitation is the fastest growing family type in the UK, there is little to no financial protection for cohabitees should the couple break up, or one party die without leaving a Will. This is the case regardless of length of time living together, or if the couple have children (though there are some financial claims that can be brought for the benefit of children). The fall in marriage rates has renewed calls for cohabitation reform. I hope that in the not-too-distant…
A “bereft” mother is fighting the wishes of her daughter and her ex-husband, to allow their 16 year old to take masculinsing hormones. Keep an eye on the Court of Appeal case called Re O and Q. The divorced parents disagree on whether their child should take cross-sex hormone treatment. Interestingly the law on puberty blockers, does not apply to cross-sex hormone treatment. The mother says “My job as a mother is to protect my child but I am told by social workers and doctors that I cannot”. Should the mother’s view prevail over the father’s ? Rodney Hylton-Potts
